John Williams (4) – Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

One of the best soundtrack composed by John Williams. This little cassette conceals an orchestral overload. I was pleasantly surprised how rich the music sounds on this format. Highly recommended to cassette fans. The music truly shines.

etched [stamped]
runout/Matrix A: AL-9500-SA-1 [TML-M] CTH 1 B O T3
runout/matrix B: AL-9500-SB-2 [TML-S] CTH D (E?) (sygma?) T2
runout/Matrix C s/single: AS-9500-SA [TML-M] RE TI1 T
from copy in hand

In 1977, Steven Spielberg took the classic stories of UFO sightings and abductions to the next step, taking us along for the ride with a team of scientists chasing hints on alien presence on Earth while, in the best Spielberg tradition, showing how extraordinary experiences would affect a bunch of normal people.

Spielberg asked John Williams to write the music for the movie, their third collaboration after “The Sugarland Express” and “Jaws”.

The score had to reflect two different sides to this story: the extraordinary and “alien”, but also the human experience and the impact of the above on the characters’ lives.

Williams excelled, and his score is a magnificent mix of the strange and the familiar, of the known and the mysterious.
Starting with the mysterious side of the story (“Let There Be Light”, “Navy Planes”…), and boosting the initial apprehension and fear of the unknown (“Roy’s First Encounter”, “Chasing UFOs”) this part of the score peaks at Barry’s kidnapping scene, which still gives me the creeps each time I watch it.

Williams uses low frequency notes, glissandos, micropolyphonisms (reminding me of Gyorgi Ligeti’s music in “2001 A Space Odyssey") and atonal choirs.
This, plus the absence of a clear melody, soaks us in fear of the unknown.

Williams then takes us in a journey of surprise, revelation and wonder while the melodies become more frequent and friendly in “Stars And Trucks” or “The Mountain”, peaking at “Lighshow” and still managing to be ominous in “Mothership”, before the iconic “Wild Signals” depicts a musical conversation between aliens and humans, closing with a further mix of mystery and wonder in “The Visitors- “Bye”- End Titles”, when the close encounter finally happens and Roy takes a life changing decision with bits of “When You Wish Upon A Star” giving the closing scene a layer of hope.

All in all, a wonderful soundtrack and the confirmation that Spielberg and Williams had found the perfect counterpart in each other to envision their respective creative worlds.

Rare label version of this pressing. I find it a tiny bit too bright sounding, nevertheless it do sound outstanding, especially side B.

This is being reissued in 2022 as a 45th anniversary edition. The only difference is the artwork.

Another masterpiece by John Williams, this is a beautiful suite of engaging classical pieces ranging from dissonant and chaotic to serene. If you know the movie, it is easy to match the scene to its musical age.

The recording is outstanding and the mix/master sounds amazing. I have few classical pressings that sound as good as this.

If you like this, you may also enjoy Planet of the Apes and Jaws. Check them out.

was giving to me for christmas last year as im trying to get into vinyl collecting. :) doesn't have that that extra disc thingy but oh well this album is great

CEOT3K has had nearly 70 score album releases since the movie first came out, this Varese Album from 1990, and I've no idea why it is so popular, it is easily the most boring scoring Williams has composed for a Steven Spielberg movie. With only a few moments of ethereal atmosphere and spellbinding wonder, the rest of it is merely sound design with no mystery or suspense to it at all.

Scores that blend with the sound design can work quite well, Michael Kamen's score to Die Hard being a prime example. The cold, echoing empty upper floors of Nakatomi Plaza were given a chilling atmosphere but Kamen knew to punctuate it with melodies, leitmotifs, and loads of suspense. No such luck here. It may be competent within the movie but the score to CEOT3K does not lend itself well to an album release and it's unbelievable that it has been in such high demand for four decades.

As is typical of the era, this 43-minute Varese Sarabande album is completely out of chronological order with mislabelled track titles. It doesn't bother me much as there's very little decent material here with only a few standout tracks and lots of empty nothingness.

Music as heard in the film - 3/5
Music as presented on this album 1/5
Overall 2/5

Exellent disc ! Perfect quality, Fantastic original soundtrack ! !

This listing needs some help. Tracklist is not complete and images are out of order